Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - It's hard to avoid politics when there's so much going on, and it's always being talked about on the news.
WBEN spoke with people on Main Street in Buffalo on Monday, asking if they've been paying attention to the Presidential race, and if they think Democratic nerves have subsided given President Joe Biden announcing he will not be continuing his re-election campaign.
James Carberry from Hamburg says he's been following the race more than he would probably care for.
"I'd probably say I've been following it a little too closely, social media news outlets. I feel like it's taken over quite a bit of my life. It is important, but I do feel like I've been paying a little too much attention to things," Carberry said with WBEN.
Carberry notes he's watched the presidential debate and has been following along to the recent events that have been happening, such as shots being fired at Donald Trump during the rally and hearing the calls for President Biden to step out of the race and even step out of his seat for the remainder of his term in the White House.
It's not uncommon for Americans to oftentimes tune out the politics, especially given the current election cycle, noting their dissatisfaction with candidate options and even voting third-party.
"Whichever side you pick, it's like your taking the lesser of two evils, and still choosing evil," said Joe Sibilia from Tonawanda, who says he'd rather just vote third-party then pick between Trump or whatever candidate will be replacing Biden.
"It seems to me maybe we really do need to shake it up. I'm tired of the two-party system, there's more than just that."
Sue Evans of Buffalo says it's oftentimes anxiety-inducing to keep up with everything going on in the presidential election right now and it's difficult not to get frustrated with everyone's varying opinions on social media.
"I do feel anxious. As a matter of fact, I was just texting with my sister the other day and I told her that I've been trying to avoid all the news, all the social media because it makes me anxious, terrified, and just the uncertainty of it all, it kind of scares me," Evans said in an interview with WBEN.
Evans is not alone in those anxious thoughts. The 2024 results of the American Psychiatric Association's annual mental health poll show that U.S. adults are feeling increasingly anxious. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of respondents of that poll said they're feeling anxious about the election.
Carberry notes if that poll was asking about the anxiety for the election today, that 73% would probably be less.
"With yesterday's news, I feel a lot more comfortable. I feel like the Democrats have a unified party behind Harris. I think she'll do a fine job. And I'm just really a lot more optimistic than I was yesterday," he said.
"I think now that he's backed off and exited the whole running for president and he's picked Kamala Harris, I think a lot of Democrats are feeling better about it," Evans added.
